GOMEL, 21 September (BelTA) – Russia's Kirov Oblast is interested in the development of new social and cultural projects with Gomel Oblast of Belarus, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Russia’s Kirov Oblast Roman Beresnev said at a meeting with senior officials of the Belarusian region during the Gomel Economic Forum, BelTA has learned.

The Kirov Oblast delegation took part in the Gomel Economic Forum. Deputy Chairman of the Kirov Oblast Government Mikhail Sandalov stressed that developing relations with Belarus is one of the priority areas. "Particular attention is paid to interregional relations. Relations between Kirov Oblast and Gomel Oblast will continue to grow, regardless of developments in the world. It's not just about economy but also about sport, culture and social matters," he said.

Mikhail Sandalov pointed out that the Gomel Economic Forum has established itself as one of the most effective platforms for mutually beneficial cooperation and investment activities. "I am confident that the forum will contribute to the further strengthening of cooperation between our regions. We have a specific interest, we want to talk with certain enterprises and build on we have achieved so far," he stressed.

Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Russia’s Kirov Oblast Roman Beresnev recalled that Kirov Oblast and Gomel Oblast signed a cooperation agreement at the Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia five years ago."We agreed to develop inter-parliamentary ties, exchange legislative experience, create favorable conditions for equal partnership between our regions. Kirov and Gomel have long established economic ties that keep growing stronger. But we are also interested in the intersection of the ideological, historical and social spheres," he said. 

Roman Beresnev said that more than a hundred enterprises and several universities were evacuated to Kirov Oblast during the Great Patriotic War. According to the archives, among them was Gomel Pedagogical Institute [now Francysk Skaryna Gomel State University]. "Documents have been found about four employees of the institute who worked in education in Kirov Oblast in the evacuation. Then they took part in the restoration of the institute in the post-war period. In October, we will open an exhibition of archival materials dedicated to this page of history. There are a lot of interesting projects in the avenue. We could find a lot in common and cooperate," he said.

Next year, Kirov will celebrate 650 years since its founding. Roman Beresnev invited the leadership of Gomel Oblast and the city of Gomel to join the celebrations.

Gomel is hosting the 17th edition of the Gomel Economic Forum which brought together representatives of Belarus and 12 countries.